A union is an organized group of workers who join together to negotiate with their employer over pay, benefits, scheduling, and working conditions. Rather than each employee negotiating individually, the union bargains on behalf of everyone in the group, giving workers collective leverage they wouldn’t have alone. About 14.7 million wage and salary workers in the United States belong to unions, representing 10 percent of the workforce as of 2025.
How Collective Bargaining Works
The core function of a union is collective bargaining: the process of negotiating a contract between the union and the employer. The two sides sit down and hash out wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. These negotiations must happen “in good faith,” meaning both sides are legally required to engage seriously rather than stall or refuse to participate.
If the union and employer reach an agreement, the result is a labor contract that binds both sides. Neither party can change the terms without the other’s consent. These contracts typically last two to five years and cover everything from base pay rates and overtime rules to health insurance, vacation time, workplace safety standards, and procedures for handling grievances when something goes wrong.
When negotiations stall and neither side will budge, that’s called an impasse. At that point, the employer can impose terms it previously offered to the union. If a contract expires before a new one is finalized, most of its terms stay in effect while bargaining continues, so workers don’t suddenly lose their negotiated protections overnight.
Your Legal Right to Organize
Federal law protects the right to form or join a union. Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act guarantees employees the right to organize, bargain collectively, and engage in “concerted activities” for mutual aid or protection. That last phrase is broad on purpose: it covers things like discussing wages with coworkers, circulating a petition about working conditions, or collectively refusing unsafe work. The law also protects your right to stay out of a union if you choose.
The National Labor Relations Board, a five-member federal agency, enforces these rights. The NLRB handles two main tasks. First, it oversees union elections. When workers at a company want to unionize, they typically gather signatures showing enough interest, then the NLRB investigates and, if warranted, conducts a secret-ballot election. If a majority votes in favor, the NLRB certifies the union as the workers’ official bargaining representative. Second, the NLRB investigates and acts on unfair labor practices, which can include an employer retaliating against workers for organizing or a union coercing employees.
The Pay and Benefits Difference
Union members earn more on average than their nonunion counterparts. In 2025, union workers had median weekly earnings of $1,404, compared to $1,174 for nonunion workers. That gap of roughly $230 per week adds up to about $12,000 more per year. Economists call this the “union wage premium,” and it tends to be largest for workers in middle-skill jobs where individual bargaining power is otherwise limited.
Beyond wages, union contracts frequently secure benefits that might not be available or as generous in nonunion workplaces. Health insurance, retirement plans, paid leave, and predictable scheduling are common contract provisions. The specifics depend entirely on what each union negotiates, so the value varies widely across industries and employers.
What Dues Cost
Union membership comes with dues, which fund the organization’s operations, including bargaining, legal representation, and strike funds. How dues are calculated varies by local union. Some charge a flat monthly amount, like $35 or $50 per month. Others take a percentage of your earnings, often in the range of 1 to 2.5 percent. Some use a tiered system where your dues bracket depends on your wage rate.
When evaluating dues, the math that matters is whether the higher wages and benefits you gain through the contract outweigh what you pay. For many workers, the union wage premium more than covers dues. For others, particularly in industries where the nonunion pay gap is smaller, the calculation is closer.
Where Unions Are Most Common
Union membership is far more prevalent in the public sector than the private sector. About 32.9 percent of public-sector workers (think teachers, firefighters, and government employees) belong to unions, compared to just 5.9 percent of private-sector workers.
Within private industry, unionization rates vary dramatically. Utilities lead at 17.8 percent, followed by transportation and warehousing at 13.6 percent and educational services at 13.4 percent. At the other end, finance (0.8 percent), insurance (1.2 percent), and professional and technical services (1.3 percent) have almost no union presence. Food services and drinking places sit at just 1.8 percent.
By occupation, education, training, and library workers have the highest unionization rate at 32.5 percent, with protective service occupations (police, firefighters, corrections officers) close behind at 31.3 percent. Sales workers and farming occupations are among the least unionized, both under 3 percent.
How a Union Gets Started
Unionizing a workplace follows a general path. Workers begin by talking with coworkers and gauging interest. If enough people are on board, they typically connect with an established union that represents their industry, though forming an independent union is also an option.
The next step is collecting authorization cards or signatures from at least 30 percent of eligible workers to petition the NLRB for an election. In practice, organizers usually aim for well above that threshold before filing, since not everyone who signs a card will vote yes. The NLRB then determines the appropriate “bargaining unit,” meaning which group of employees the union would represent. This could be all workers at one location, a specific department, or a particular craft.
The NLRB conducts a secret-ballot election, and if a simple majority of those who vote choose the union, it becomes the certified representative. From there, the employer is legally obligated to bargain with the union over a contract. First contracts can take months or even over a year to negotiate, since neither side has an existing framework to build on.
What Happens During a Dispute
When a union and employer can’t agree during bargaining, several tools come into play. Mediation brings in a neutral third party to help both sides find common ground. If that fails, the union may authorize a strike, where workers stop working to pressure the employer. Strikes are a last resort for most unions because members lose their regular pay during a walkout, though some unions maintain strike funds that provide partial income.
On the employer’s side, a lockout is the mirror image: the company refuses to let union workers come to work until a deal is reached. Both strikes and lockouts are legal under federal labor law, with specific rules governing when and how each can happen.
Day-to-day disputes are handled differently. Most union contracts include a grievance procedure, a step-by-step process for resolving complaints about contract violations. A worker who believes their employer broke the contract files a grievance, which moves through progressively higher levels of review. If it’s not resolved internally, many contracts send the dispute to arbitration, where an independent arbitrator makes a binding decision.